


Liquid Truce

by LeviSqueaks



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Gen, Peace Offering, Post Battle of Hogwarts, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29640444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeviSqueaks/pseuds/LeviSqueaks
Summary: Post Battle of Hogwarts, Harry receives a truce he hadn't suspected. First HP Fic! a Prompt fill for Sukinohama
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	Liquid Truce

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sukinohana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sukinohana/gifts).



> A prompt fill for the lovely Sukinohama. Thanks for your patience and allowing me to dip my toe into HP for the first time!

Liquid Truce  
By LeviSqueaks  
For Sukinohana

Harry was honestly surprised there was another level of exhaustion. After the search for horcruxes, losing Sirius, the tri-wizard tournament… he thought he had experienced it all. But the aftermath of the battle at Hogwarts had certainly brought to light how laughable it all was. 

He wasn’t sure he would ever get used to the feeling of being so woefully unprepared. 

Hogwarts was still standing though, and despite all they had lost… everyone they had lost, they would continue to thrive as a society. Hermione had been tiredly outlining plans, what they needed to tackle, to correct and work on next. She never seemed to be tired. Or naive. Harry didn’t envy her for it.

He glanced across the hall to the still forms draped in sheets. Everyone was clustered around and trying to just push through but it was hard with the reminder of everything they had lost. Voldemort was gone, but several of his followers were still out there. And many of Hogwarts’ defenders lay still and cold on the stone floor, draped in student bedsheets, never to see the next dawn. Harry steadfastly refused to think of Fred, or how wrecked George looked. He was surrounded by his family but Harry was certain he had never felt more alone. He couldn’t think of Remus and Tonks… or what would happen with Teddy. There was a fear gripping his gut about it, he needed to make sure he talked to Andromeda. He was young, and far too stupid and impulsive to be a father at 17, but he also couldn’t bear the thought of Teddy being left alone like he had been. He knew that Andy and Ted wouldn’t put Teddy in a cupboard but that didn’t ease the anxiety ripping him up inside. 

He felt more than saw the movement to his left and he turned tiredly to see Draco Malfoy, bruised and bloodied and covered in dirt cradling two steaming mugs. He looked uncertain, defensive as he approached. Harry felt a flash of irritation before he firmly set it aside and shifted to face Ma...Draco. He didn’t like the ponce, but he could recognize that he had gone through the same horrors that they had all gone through. He was disgraced with the death eaters and looked worn down, paper thin and defeated. He truly had no friends or allies left in the world.

Harry wasn’t sure that Draco didn’t richly deserve it. But they were the same age, and Harry remembered vividly what it was like to be ostracised by everyone when he learned he could speak Parsel… “Draco,” he greeted and he even sounded tired. 

Malfoy’s eyes widened and he stared at Harry for several long moments before he pushed one of the mugs forward. Harry could see his hand trembling and the defensiveness still wildly present on his face, “I brought you hot cocoa, Potter.” 

Harry might have asked if it were poisoned, he could have refused to accept it. But the simple gesture, the truce that it signified spread warmth as much as the chocolate would. He reached out and accepted the cup. Then, with only a moment of hesitation, he reached out a hand toward Draco and waited for the other to accept, or reject his handshake. It was a bittersweet throwback to their second meeting, riding the train when he had refused the man in front of him. Would their lives have changed dramatically if he had accepted? 

Draco’s lip trembled, only slightly, and his eyes took on a bit of sheen before he squared his shoulders and reached out with a pale hand to shake Harry’s. There were no sparks, no fanfare, no chorus to herald the truce. But Harry smiled just the same and shook Draco’s hand firmly, “Thank you, Draco. I appreciate it.” 

He noted the flush over Draco’s cheeks, the pleased quirk of his lips, the relaxation of his shoulders and he let Draco pull his hand away first, “of course, Pot… Harry.” 

Harry sipped the cocoa while he watched Draco walk back toward his parents, and sat again, sipping the cocoa after a discrete sniff. He wouldn’t have been able to tell if it were poisoned, he wasn’t that good at Potions. But the chocolate warmed him and gave him a little strength to keep pushing on. Maybe there had been more victories here than he had thought. 

FIN


End file.
